A bicycle, when operated at night, is generally required to have a lamp for providing illumination by which a rider may see to operate the bicycle. It is usually also required to have a colored safety light, generally red, providing means by which the bicycle may be seen from the rear. Preferably, a safety light is also visible from the side of a bicycle.
Adding lights to a bicycle for night operation clearly will increase the weight of the bicycle. A cyclist may invest a substantial sum in a bicycle incorporating strong lightweight components made from materials such as aluminum and titanium alloys, and carbon fiber composites, for the purpose of minimizing the weight of the bicycle. Adding two or more lights to such a lightweight bicycle may add weight equivalent to brakes or a gear changing mechanism. As such the value of the investment in such lightweight components is somewhat reduced.
For off-road cycling, also referred to as mountain biking, it may be advantageous to provide lighting by means of a light attached to a rider's safety helmet. Safety helmets are now worn by a majority of cyclists as a matter of choice, rather than because of any law requiring their wearing. This is due at least in part to the development of extremely light helmets which provide little if any hindrance or discomfort to a wearer. Adding one or more lights to a helmet will significantly increase the weight of the helmet, making it uncomfortable for extended periods of wearing.
While lighting can not, realistically, be eliminated for night operation of bicycles, it would clearly be beneficial to reduce the total weight of a bicycle lighting system and would also be beneficial to provide a lightweight illumination and safety lighting system which could be helmet mounted.